Monday, February 23, 2009

A Little Church and a Little Sleep

I'm not gonna lie, y'all. The lack of sleep is catching up with me. It's hard. I want to be joyful and peaceful but the exhaustion provides for some maniacal moments. Yesterday I hit a wall. Curtis and I had taken turns getting up with Annabeth during the night - me to feed her and him to deal with the diaper explosions and spit up sessions that occur right as I'm falling back asleep. We were both really tired all day.

The boys went to church in the morning and I went with my mom that evening. I'm so glad I did. First of all, I love the Ascend service. It's really energetic. If we didn't love our Sunday school class so much we'd probably go to it. Pastor Gregg is doing a series on the end times and he preached on eternal reward. It was extremely encouraging. My mind has really been set on earthly things. Colossians 3:1-2 says, "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Let's face it, I have a lot of mundane, earthly things to do right now. Like changing diapers, potty training (still!), and cleaning spit up and poop out of mounds of laundry. It doesn't get more earthly than that. Don't get me wrong. I love the little baby that dirties the laundry, but if I could hand off the laundry responsibilities to someone else, I'd do it in a New York minute. I was reminded that if I do these things as unto the Lord, one day I'll be rewarded for them and I'll get to throw those crowns at the feet of Christ. That was exactly what I needed to hear.

After church, Mom and I had a quick dinner at Chili's. That was nice since Curtis is on a Lean Cuisine kick right now and while I should be, I'm not. And you can probably guess I'm not up on my cooking these days.

Once I got home, Curtis and I watched the Oscars. Slumdog Millionaire did pretty stinking well. Also, I love, love, loved Natalie Portman's pink dress. How beautiful was that? I wish I were wearing it right now! Wouldn't I be stunning in that gown while I sit on my red couch and blog next to my little Baby Elephant? Oh, you didn't know I have a baby elephant? You wouldn't know it by looking at her, but Annabeth's noises come straight out of the zoo. It's like she's got an inner trumpet or something.

We put the baby down and went to bed around midnight. And, glory to God in the highest, I only had to wake up ONE TIME to feed her before morning. It was wonderful. I almost feel like a new woman today. I'm so pumped because when Curtis gets home he will find both kids bathed and dressed, his wife with clean hair and even makeup on, the house in order, and the laundry in process. And I even worked this morning. It has been a good day. Look what a little church and a little sleep can do.

Thank you for sharing, Amanda. Your words are encouraging and I love reading your daily stories about being a mom, especially to this lady right here who looks forward to having a baby one day (and one who wears rose-colored glasses when she's day-dreaming about being a mommy).:) Keep the spit and poo stories coming. Or not?

Having a newborn can be so hard--I remember those days. Today my baby who is four looked straight into my eyes and said, "Mommy when I get big, I will still be your baby!" Oh it just melted my heart. Hang in there!

Oh, Amanda, thank you for this post. Today was one of the hardest days for me yet and I really needed to read what you gleaned from church yesterday; I needed the Truth you wrote about. Thanks so much! Hope you have a wonderful night and sleep well. :)

Oh, I feel for you! Please don't stress about the potty training. (I know easier said than done!). So well meaning person gave us the book, "Potty Training in a Day", well the joke in our family is, it took a year! I can say both my girls are now potty trained and I still don't know how it happened.

Praise the Lord for a little sleep and a little church! You fed both parts of your person: your body and your soul:)

Praying for you in the dailyness of life, sister. It is hard, but its our mission field. To train these eternal souls and "lay up treasures in heaven." If us moms didn't remind ourselves of this mission daily it is so easy to be discouraged and depressed, never seeming to get out from under the bodily functions and piles of laundry! But God's grace is sufficient and these are crowns to cast at His feet one day!

I am right there with you sweet thang. Was just talking with my mom yesterday about it. I am learning how to draw on the Spirit throughout the day to be at Peace. I think the hardest part for me is not vomiting on my man when he gets home from work. I have been home with the kids and probably had very little adult conversation and when he walks through that door I just open my mouth with no reservation. Lord help me, I mean, him. It might not be that bad everyday but some days he probably wonders if he came home to the right woman.Thinking of you as you learn how to be a mom of two. I am learning all over again with three. Luv ya siesta!

So glad that you got so much accomplished Monday! Thursday of last week, I was feeling very overwhelmed with what I needed to get done. A dear friend prayed for me. When I got home from work, the Lord gave me this surge of energy and my husband got home from work early. He helped with the homework!!! That was such a blessing to me. It reminded me that if I just call out to the LORD, he hears me!!! I got all that I need to do DONE plus MORE!!!Hope you have a great day with your kiddos!!!!

THANKS FOR SHARING AMANDA THE ENCOURAGING WORDS TODAY NEEDED THEM IN MY LIFE WITH THE THINGS IN MY LIFE THAT GET OVERWHELMING AT TIMES TO DO UNTO THE LORD THANKS AMANDA LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH BIG HUGS TO YOU AND YOURSCAROL ALBUQUERQUE NM praying for you and your little ones

thanks so much for the encouragement on not setting our minds on earthly things. i've been in the midst of some pretty long days at work and lots of "earthly tasks" and i really needed to hear that. hope you have a better week and some more sleep!

The verse that got me through those times was Jeremiah 31:25 - "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." I love it when God puts his encouraging words in his love letter! Praise the Lord for sleep. Always a need, especially when you have more than one child!Have a great day.

I'm right there with you, sweet girl. I have a 3 1/2 year old and a 4 month old...both boys. Only being awakened once in the night is pure heaven! haha

I have to tell you that, for me, having a nursing baby is so great for my prayer life. A "forced" time to be still and (sometimes) quiet works wonders. And I am certain that God brings things to mind at just the right time...even if that happens to be at 3AM.

Amanda- I had read all the potty training comments back when you first posted and per a suggestion you got from a physical therapist (I think), we got Samuel a tricycle (um, I mean motorcycle) for Christmas. The weather has permitted him the past month to ride it and he has made huge strides with the training to the point where he wakes up almost dry in the a.m. and hollering, "Does anybody need to go pot-ty?!" He still doesn't have the dirtier part down, but I am claiming this as a well spent $35! So there you have it- stubborn boy practically training himself and control freak parents humbled- again. And bonus- it is so entertaining to him and he burns lots of energy.

Yeah!!! I am so happy for you...I feel so much better after a "productive" day like that! The first couple of months with a new baby are HARD...so just sit back and enjoy every second!!! As you know, it all goes by too fast! Can't wait for more Annabeth pics!

Oh Amanda I am soo glad! For some reason you being encouraged and rested encourages me:) My pastor has been going through Matt. on Sun. nights, and we are at the part on the second coming. I have been reminded this past Sun. too to be ready for His appearing. I want to be ready...You are having new Little Momma adventures with that little one. The Lord is giving you sleep and stability of mind! Gotta love HIM!Gal. 6:9 is a verse that the Lord brings to me mind when I need stability and sleep and perseverance. Love Him:)

I feel the same way about the Ascend service. Since I don't get to go to "big church" very often at my church, that service is a huge blessing in my life, and a needed one at that. I need that Word so that I will stay fed and in a community! I haven't gotten plugged into a smaller group, but right now that is just hard, and the Lord is really teaching me to trust Him in all areas of my life. So, needless to say, that service is huge for me!

And girl, the first thing I said about Natalie Portman was, "I love her dress!" Loved it.

So glad you got a little church and a little sleep and that baby girl slept longer that night.

I so wish someone would have told me that doing the laundry and changing diapers was serving God when my kids were little. I was listening to a podcast of Dee Brestin just yesterday and she was talking about that and it made me really sad because when my kids were babes I felt all those things were what I had to get done THEN I could do something fruitful. If only I would have grasped, and can continue to grasp, that caring for my family is definitely serving God and is a ministry!! My kids are ages 10 - 5 now so I still have plenty of laundry, cooking, and house cleaning to do to practice this truth on!!

Hang in there, girl. The sleep deprivation goes away eventially. There were days when my second was nursing at night that I thought my drivers license should be revoked b/c of the risk this new momma posed. But it too will pass.

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